A new episode of racial politics has emerged around the South African cricket team, with the Proteas’ decision not to wear black armbands in their series against Pakistan following the deaths of former Springbok cricket captain Peter van der Merwe and fast bowler Neil Adcock.
Why has this happened?
The players themselves, apparently, decided these two great cricketers of the 1950s and ’60s were not worthy of being recognised because they had played apartheid sport.
According to media, team management said decisions on black armbands were taken by the players in line with a commitment to respect sensitivities on both sides of SA cricket’s racially divided past.
Talk about being politically correct.
Does that mean my idol as a youngster, Graeme Pollock, will be also denied that honour one day? Does it mean the same will apply to Barry Richards, David Dyer, Tich Smith, Garth le Roux, and more?
There are many of us who have scant regard or respect for past apartheid policies, but surely when it comes down to common decency, besides the fact players of the ilk of Van der Merwe and Adcock were undoubtedly two of the best of their time, shouldn’t any sportsman’s death befit the wearing of a black armband by those that come after them?
It was not the fault of these players of the past that a system so reviled denied so many talented athletes a chance to wear the green and gold.
Quoted on the News24.com website, Barry Richards, whose international career was limited to four Tests due to apartheid, said, “It’s time to forgive and forget.
“We can’t keep up this pretence that there was no cricket before 1992 (when SA played their first Test after 22 years of apartheid-induced isolation).”
Richards said he was a victim of apartheid.
“I was three years old when the National Party came in to power in 1948, but I’ve paid the penalty.
“They keep talking about disadvantaged people – no-one’s more disadvantaged than Graeme (Pollock) and me. We couldn’t have Test cricket and we’re not recognised now.
“It was a sad part of our history, but let’s acknowledge that the guys who were good in that era were good, and when they die we respect them. It would be nice if the team did that.”
Left-hander Pollock played 23 Tests before SA were kicked out of world cricket in 1970 and was officially recognised as the country’s Cricketer of the Century in 2000.
Pollock said the lack of black armbands for Adcock and Van der Merwe, “is in line with the thinking that anything that happened pre-1992 doesn’t get any credit or wasn’t part of the system.
“Everybody who has played for SA has made a contribution and those two gentlemen certainly made a contribution.
“You’ve got to close the gap between the pre-’92 era and the current scenario. In Australia, all ex-cricketers are rewarded and thanked for their contribution.”
Adcock, who took 104 wickets at an average of 21.10 in his 26 Tests, was among the most feared fast bowlers of the 1950s and early 1960s.
Van der Merwe captained SA to their first Test series win in England, in 1965.
According to cricket writer and columnist Telford Vice, former SA fast bowler Makhaya Ntini called for inclusiveness.
“That’s our history – it doesn’t matter who you are or when you played, if you played for SA you should be remembered in this way,” Ntini said.
Vice went on to say that Proteas team manager Mohammed Moosajee said the players were mindful of not offending any part of cricket’s constituency with decisions that could be politically charged.
“It’s purely a player policy, and the player policy is that (they will consider wearing black armbands) if someone who is close to the team and management from a family perspective or someone who has been involved in Cricket SA, especially post-unity, dies,” Moosajee said.
So questions might be asked how will Ali Bacher be honoured one day?
He captained the 1970 team that whitewashed Australia, before the sporting boycott arrived. He was then appointed SA Cricket Union boss in the 80s and was instrumental in organising the rebel tours of the time that divided a nation and South African cricketing public.
He then served the United Cricket Board and left to organise a successful 2003 Cricket World Cup in South Africa.
I remember as a youngster watching the likes of Graeme Pollock, Chris Wilkins, Simon Bezuidenhout, Kepler Wessels, and Ken McEwan, among many, at St George’s Park in their heyday. They provided us with many thrilling moments.
The apartheid politics of the day were abhorrent to say the least and left a bitter taste in the mouth.
Today, in a new democracy, it seems we have lost the plot. If sport’s greater goal is to bring people together (especially in South Africa), we must at least pay homage to the great sporting icons of that time too.
This is about humanity, acknowledgement and, as I said earlier, common decency. Not about scoring political points.
Ian
Guest
You cannot deny the past, no matter how painful it may be for some. Not honouring this men, in my view, is petty and reeks of the modern disease of political correctness. No matter how much you deny formal recognition of these past players, you cannot simply remove them as though they never existed. It seems to me, with this type of action, cricket is still enslaved to the past, even though they may be too blind to recognise this simple reality. These men will be recognised around the world for their contribution to cricket, even if it was delivered under an oppressive political system. How sad it is that what the rest of the world acknowledge, SA players do not!
Andrew C (waikato)
Guest
alking from an NZer's perspective (and I do this with a great love of the rugby rivalry between South Africa/Springboks & New Zealand/All Blacks, I just cannot imagine the Springboks not honouring the death of a pre-1992 great like , for example, John Gainsford, Tiny Naude, Frik du Preez, OK Geffin, etc .................. which I guess may reflect the difference in Leadership and Respect between Cricket & Rugby in the republic :)
Chris, so instead of making an honour roll of both black and white Cricketers of the bygone era and appointing them to this honour roll, the decision was tonot honour anyone?
chris
Guest
Richards inadvertently showed why the policy exists. There are hundreds of coloured and black players who had even less of an opportunity than Pollock and Richards to play test cricket and who are completely forgotten today. Which of these player deserve to be honoured? Would Van der Merwe even have been a test player if D'Oliviera and others were eligible for selection? We'll never know. The policy to only honour players and officials from the post-1992 era is based on the idea that CSA (or previously the United Cricket Board) is new body that came into existence after unification of the various cricketing boards in South Africa. Is the policy the right one? I don't know, but it is not without merit and the alternative is not without its own pit falls.
chris
Guest
Not a waratah fan I take it?
Pope Paul VII
Guest
Grew up in a former english colony of course.
dadiggle
Guest
Brain McMillan was Makhaya Ntini role model and hero. Let me ask you how did you come to love certain sports? Was it part of your culture did you get it from your dad taking you out to games etc etc?
Pope Paul VII
Guest
A mere tourist to the North but no I haven't got a clue. I agree that racism comes in all colours, it just so happens this one, and ours for that matter, was white on black. That's not really what I was talking about. Do you think the cricket fraternity pander to the majority rulers for political purposes because the people they represent don't have heroes from their own backgrounds?
Neuen
Roar Rookie
Who should be?
Bob Anderson
Guest
Real classy. They should be embarrassed for such a petty, bigoted act.
Neuen
Roar Rookie
What about Pietersen and Rathbone? Charl Langeveldt withdrawing from the squad when he was chosen as a quota player in the place of a bowler in better form. Openly stating that he did not deserve his place? Being majority does not mean its racism when a team is represented by a minority culture. When one grow up your parents influence the sport you get to love. I have been to South Africa numerous times and the African culture only a few of them are introduced into cricket or rugby that way. The rest of them prefer football as South Africa's majority is football mad. Being a majority does not mean anything. Color doesn't guarantee talent and one can not give a person talent if there is none. When it comes to cricket and rugby the African people are the minority playing and supporting it. Same as going off with Australia why there is not more natives in their team and why its only white as well.
Dadiggle
Guest
Pope have you ever been in South Africa or Africa? Or all you know about it is what you saw on TV which is only what the media portrait? South Africa had a coloured Rugby team called the Proteas and a Black team called the Black Leopards. Kirk was asked if such teams would be welcome in New Zealand. He said yes, because they would be the same as the Maori team.. It was clear that Prime Minister Norman Kirk considered a team only racist when they were white. That is the problem with the world
Bunny Colvin
Guest
What my memory is fuzzie about is the old South African caps. I think they were quite similar to the rugby jumping springbok the last time they used them in Australia in the early 1990s. But you look at the ones on the auction sites and they are just the heads of the animal.
Dadiggle
Guest
I can not understand the Oliveira situation. Apart from Britain being busy training people who were affiliated with communist parties and them losing much of the money they are tapping out of the South African mines they turned the Oliveira situation was used for political agenda's rather than sport. In the late sixties, American tennis player, Arthur Ashe applied for a visa to play in South Africa. His Visa was refused, because Ashe told his supporters he wanted to come to South Africa to “put a crack in the Apartheid Wall”. He added that “I would like to drop an H-bomb on Johannesburg”. Colour had nothing to do with it. Can you imagine what would have happened if a South African tennis player made such a threat about Washington DC or New York? In 1973 Arthur Ashe applied again. This time he was allowed in. He played, passed criticism and lost in the finals against fellow American Jimmy Connors. He quickly toured SA, loved it and then left. The next year he wanted to come back. At the time South Africa had 60,000 registered white tennis players and 22,000 black, coloured and Indian players, 20,000 of which were affiliated to the White union. The famous Sugar Circuit and other major tournaments were open to all races. Davis Cup selection was strictly on merit. At the same time that Ashe played in SA, the American black boxer Bob Foster came to defend his light-heavyweight title against Pierre Fourie whom he narrowly defeated. 1981 the Springbok rugby players who included a coloured player called Errol Tobias, were flour-bombed from airplanes in New Zealand and had to train in horse stables. Funny thing is Apartheid did not start in 1948. It started in the 1800's laws implemented by the British and as the years went on it was relaxed by the Government. All laws the Apartheid govt made was to ban all parties affiliated to communism same as what USA and Australia did in the 50's and the terrorism act same as what most countries got today. The creators of the Bantustans were not the Boers or the Whites, it was a Zulu King called Shaka. Tribes fleeing Shaka‟s carnage grouped themselves into areas finding protection in concentrated numbers. Do me a favor quick. Rate the following for me on how evil it was. 1 for lowest 5 for highest. Gowon, Mengisthu, Hutu, Kim IL Sung and Apartheid
pope paul v11
Guest
Somewhat naively I Imagined that not too far down the track after 1992 the world would see a cricket version of the Battle of Isandlwana, with waves of zulu ( and Xhosa etc ) fast bowlers particularly, carrying the fight for the nation. Now clearly I cannot begin to imagine the complexity, for want of many better words, of being a South African of any background but do you guys think that tthe lack of participation and representatives from the major population groups has inhibited acknowledgement of the cricketing past?
Brewski
Guest
very good post sheek.
sheek
Roar Guru
Jason8, As you probably know, van der Merwe was the Mike Brearley of SA cricket - not worth his place in the side as a test batsman, but a thoughtful leader & clever tactician who led SA 8 times for 4 wins, 3 draws & only one loss. Adcock took 104 wickets in 26 tests at about 20 runs per wicket. Hardly insignificant. Up to isolation in 1970, most pundits would have had in their all-time XI up to that time.
jason8
Guest
PS save the black armbands for the truly greats - of which of that era only Pollock, Richards really stand out.
jason8
Guest
Seeing as we are apparently at a flower arranging forum i shall weigh in with my two cents.... The King Protea ( by its proper name) is a marvelous and beautiful flower, solid yet subtle, resistant to harsh climate and fire and unique to our land. I like it and i prefer that our rugby boys keep the Springbok as it is indelibly inked in rugby culture.
sheek
Roar Guru
Biltongbek, I understand precisely what you're saying, politics is a real pain in the neck, full of imbeciles. But I value the compulsory vote, & I hope we never go down the American path of voluntary voting. But some of those political imbeciles can become very dangerous if given an opportunity. In ANY country, even here in Australia. I reckon many Germans couldn't be bothered with politics in the late 1920s & early 1930s, then one day they woke up & found that there a lot of things they once took for granted that were now taken away from them. And look where that took the world.......... With respect to cricket, the current govt needs to be reminded, often & strenuously that right or wrong, there was a vibrant cricket history in South Africa before 1992. It might have been flawed, but it existed. South Africa have themselves to blame also. A mid to late 1950s bowling attack of Adcock & Heine opening, Tayfield the genius off-spinner in the middle & two brilliant all-rounders in Goddard & D'Oliveira rounding out the attack. D'Oliveira's enforced loss to South Africa was England's, & the world's gain. But I appreciate there were also others like D'Oliveira thus affected.